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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23060575">I Wish I Didn't Have a Heart to Love You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/adashofblue/pseuds/adashofblue'>adashofblue</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>CrankGameplays - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF, markiplier - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Amy's The Best Wingwoman, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apologies, Chica's A Good Girl, Chocolate, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ethan Nestor loves Mark Fischback, First Kiss, Flowers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Hurt Ethan, Insecure Ethan, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Up, Mark Fischback loves Ethan Nestor, Mark Is Sorry, Massage, Mutual Pining, No Longer A One Shot (:, Pining, Protective Mark, Romance, Spencer's A Good Boy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 12:06:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,055</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23060575</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/adashofblue/pseuds/adashofblue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the filming of the "DIY chiropractor" video, where Ethan offers Mark a massage and, well, feelings ensue. Title nabbed from the song "U Said" by Lil Peep 'cause I'm a super angsty and I thought it fit the fic. Enjoy!</p><p>[[I'd like to once again state that I love and respect Mark and Ethan and their loved ones. I do not claim anything about them or their relationship, I simply like creating fluffy fantasies.]]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ethan Nestor &amp; Amy Nelson, Mark Fischbach &amp; Amy Nelson, Mark Fischbach &amp; Ethan Nestor, Mark Fischbach/Ethan Nestor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>429</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. It was only a kiss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Ethan's POV</strong>
</p><p>“You weren’t kidding when you said you were sore, were you? You’re so tense…” Ethan speaks in a low tone, startling Mark by sitting down behind him on the sofa, squeezing his shoulders.</p><p>Mark’s body promptly stiffens and he clears his throat to hide a noise that the other rather would’ve heard come out, shrugging. He’s relaxing on the couch after their long day of filming, ruffling Chica’s fur where she sits in front of him, panting happily. Ethan has discovered, thanks to their latest video trying out (or destroying the image of) chiropractic, that Mark is super sore and definitely needs a massage. He also knows that Mark has too much pride to ask for one. So he’s going to take care of it for him.</p><p>“Nah, s’not that bad.”</p><p>“Uh-huh. So you <em>don’t</em> want a massage?" teases Ethan, a small smile bleeding into his voice as it twitches in the corners of his mouth.</p><p>He kneads the firm, tanned flesh covering Mark’s muscle and bone, finding far too many knots for his liking, and when a soft, almost inaudible “well, I didn’t say <em>that</em>.” sounds, it feels like a small victory in of itself.</p><p>Chica wants a few more head pats and belly rubs before she’s content though, and Ethan happily participates in doing so with Mark. He coos things like “such a good girl” and “the bestest pup” beneath his breath, if only to distract himself from the deep murmurs Mark gives the golden retriever, praising words that rumble through his core and leaves him feeling warm and fuzzy despite them not being aimed at him. Eventually, the queen is satisfied, and she licks Ethan’s hand once in appreciation before curling up beneath both of their feet, soon enough snoring like a bear.</p><p>“Alright, I hope your massage skills are better than your chiropractic skills.” Mark jokes, keeping his voice quiet as not to disturb Chica’s sleep, and Ethan swallows hard. He manages a nod, or two. Or perhaps three. He’s not sure.</p><p>“Chiropractic was like learning how to do surgery. I know how to give massages, Mark.</p><p>“Oh yeah? I guess you’ll just have to prove it, then. You want my shirt off?”</p><p>Ethan flushes pure red upon hearing the suggestion. <em>Yes</em>, he thinks, but the mere <em>idea</em> of being so close to his crush, touching his bare skin without any cloth to separate them, has his heartbeat in his ears. He’s seen Mark nude more times than he can count on his fingers (bless Unus Annus) but this is different. There are no cameras rolling, no audience watching, it feels more real, more… intimate.</p><p>“No, you uh- you can keep it on. Just wanna get some knots out, make sure your spine isn’t all crooked.”</p><p>He’s surprised he can string together a proper sentence.</p><p>“I’d hope not.” Mark smiles back at him, making him feel like the luckiest guy in the world, and he turns his back to Ethan, making himself comfortable.</p><p><em>I’m glad he can’t see my face right now. And that I can’t see </em>his<em>, for that matter,</em> thinks Ethan, it would be a far more difficult task to do this if they were facing each other. Making videos with the man where Ethan constantly has to look at his beautiful face is hard enough.</p><p>Ethan scoots forward a little, placing his palms flat on Mark’s broad back, but Mark jumps at the touch, and so Ethan does too, in reflex.</p><p>“Jesus, your hands are cold! You could at least warn me first!” laughs Mark, no malice to his voice, and Ethan winces, rubbing his hands together with a shrill “sorry!”.</p><p>“S’okay. Here, I’ll do it for ya.”</p><p>Before he can protest, Mark has grabbed his hands and brought them around his waist to cup them in his own, blowing hot air onto them. Ethan’s breath catches in his throat as well as the gasp that threatened to escape it. His face burns and his stomach churns, but the contact is far from unwelcome or unpleasant. Mark’s calloused, warm hands are big in contrast to his own, they’re delicate as they work friction onto Ethan’s pale skin. When he lets go of them, Ethan catches himself almost chasing his touch.</p><p>But enough of being a flustered mess! Ethan pulls himself together and tries again, placing his hands on Mark’s back and this time receiving no complaints.</p><p>He uses the little experience he has in massaging and starts moving his hands up and down Mark’s back in firm, circular motions, making sure to add just the right amount of pressure. He treats himself to a once-over of Mark’s muscular biceps and shoulders, sees the tense muscles flexing and working beneath his skin. He breathes a “relax.” over his shoulder. Shockingly enough, Mark obeys, inhaling deeply and exhaling all of that weight he’s been carrying.</p><p>Moving onto knots and pressing his palms into the other’s flesh, Ethan elicits a low hiss from Mark.</p><p>“That hurt?”</p><p>“Ugh, yeah, but keep goin’. It’ll feel better afterward,” replies Mark, sitting perfectly still to aid Ethan in his process.</p><p>When done with each knot, Ethan rubs the skin there in apology instead of kissing it like he deeply wants to. He works Mark’s shoulders properly now, using the pads of his palms and thumbs to remove any tension he can find, and his eyes widen when he hears a groan from Mark. The sound goes straight to his groin and he has to shake his head to get rid of any sinful thoughts.</p><p>“That’s real nice, Eth.”</p><p>Oh, and his voice is dark, smooth like honey. Ethan decides that this moment he’s sharing with his friend right now is the worst and simultaneously the best moment he’s had in his life.</p><p>“That’s the idea.” he manages, cheeks gently tinted pink.</p><p>Soon enough, Mark’s completely relaxed, like putty in the other’s hands. Ethan could do this all night if it wasn’t for Mark finally pushing himself off the couch with a content hum. He sways a little as he turns to face his friend and shoots him a serene, genuine smile.</p><p>“Thank you. I really needed that. But I think it’d be rude of me not to return the favor.”</p><p>Ethan blinks a few times, opens his mouth to say something and shuts it again, apparently incapable of speaking all of a sudden.</p><p>“C’mon, don’t look so scared, I promise that I’m <em>great</em> at giving massages.”</p><p>“You don’t have to.” slips out of Ethan’s mouth, even though he wants to say yes. He <em>really</em> wants to, but he doesn’t want to trouble Mark.</p><p>Yet Mark’s rolling his eyes, already settling down behind him.</p><p>“I’m doing it. So shut up and relax, and I’ll take care of you.” rumbles Mark far too close to his ear, far too suggestive.</p><p><em>How in Hell am I supposed to relax with you pressed up against me?!</em> Ethan wonders, and it’s true, Mark has literally latched onto him. Maybe he’s bolder than Ethan, more comfortable with intimacy, because he’s so close his legs are tangled with Ethan’s, his stomach brushing the small of his back. Then, when Mark’s hands land on his back, Ethan has to bite back a startled squeak. It’s not that Mark’s hands are cold, it’s the opposite, but having them on him is far too real for the man to deal with.</p><p>Yet Mark has him sinking back into the cushions, almost slumped against him when he carefully but firmly presses all the right places on Ethan’s back. When he prods at a more sensitive or sore spot, Ethan wriggles a little beneath his touch, biting his lip to contain any moans and sighs.</p><p>“You’re moving a lot,” notes Mark, quiet, and Ethan grimaces.</p><p>“Sorry.”</p><p>“You don’t need to apologize. Just tell me if anything hurts, yeah?”</p><p>Ethan nods then, preoccupied with listening to Mark’s voice, reeling in the way he leans forward and his stubble scratches his shoulder when he wants to say anything. A small sigh leaves Ethan’s lips and he goes rigid, feeling like he’s just stepped over a line. But Mark hushes him, continues working his shoulders and brushes a thumb over the base of his neck. It sends a shiver down his spine.</p><p>“You’re allowed to enjoy this, Ethan. If I was uncomfortable with it, I wouldn’t’ve offered you the massage in the first place,” explains Mark, awaiting his friend’s response.</p><p>“Right.” is all Ethan can offer the other man, hyper-alert on every movement Mark makes, every swipe or stroke or brush of his fingers.</p><p>Just then, Mark sighs, his arms coming around Ethan’s waist and pulling him flush against him, dropping his forehead onto his shoulder. If Ethan was blushing before, it’s nothing compared to the crimson dusting his face and ears now, as he - by instinct, he tells himself --, grasps onto Mark’s forearms, his breath hitching noticeably.</p><p>“M- Mark?” he stutters, his pitch gone through the roof.</p><p>“I know. Just… for a little while?” even Mark sounds uncertain now, which is honestly a little alarming, but Ethan can’t find it in himself to object.</p><p>His nerve endings are like live wires lit on fire, his heart slamming itself against his ribcage over and over again. Mark moves his head slightly, Ethan can feel his breath skimming his neck, and then the light press of lips.</p><p>It’s like he’s been shot by Cupid all over again, or rather, <em>blasted</em> by his arrows, and he’s defenseless, helpless.</p><p>He’s sure that if he moves or says anything, the moment will slip away, but it appears that he doesn’t have to ponder on that for too long before the front door sounds. Chica’s up from her coma now, running to greet her other owner, and sure enough, Amy pops her head inside the living room not long after. Mark’s released his grip around Ethan now, but he doesn’t move away. Amy’s face lights up with glee.</p><p>“Aww, isn’t that sweet. Giving each other back rubs, are we?” she asks, thankfully not upset, but that doesn’t help how cold Ethan feels when Mark’s hands leave his back.</p><p>“Yeah, figured we’d get some use out of the chiropractic skills we’ve learned today,” Mark replies with a laugh (laced in… nerves? is that it?), and then he stands up, not looking at Ethan when he moves across the room to give his girlfriend a hug.</p><p>Ah. It seems that Ethan has lost his place. He suppresses a sob of pure, gut-wrenching pain. It’s like someone’s dug a stake into his heart and is twisting it around in there, not intending to give him any mercy whatsoever. Ethan forces a smile.</p><p>They never talk about what happened that day on the couch again. Ethan’s too afraid to mention it and Mark simply pretends like it never occurred. It hurts, especially on long nights when Ethan remembers Mark’s strong arms around him, and sometimes, just <em>sometimes</em>, he touches his neck, the memory Mark left him there. And he <em>feels</em> it.</p><p>He’s falling apart.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. How did it end up like this?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you and Ethan…” she begins, not angry but rather... suspicious. Mark swallows, wrings his hands in his lap. Amy’s bright, of course she knows about them.</p><p>Or; The follow-up and good ending I promised for this chaos of a fic I created. Terribly sorry about the delay, I hope this can help make up for it! Please enjoy!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Mark's POV</strong>
</p><p>It’s been a month, roughly, since that day. The day of the incident, that Mark wants so badly to brush off as foolish impulsiveness. But deep down, he knows the truth. His lips still tingle with the kiss he left on Ethan’s nape, he can still smell the sweet, intoxicating scent of his soft, fair. skin. And he knows he’s in deep shit.</p><p>However, after the harsh reality check he got from his own, lovely girlfriend, he’s come to the conclusion that he can’t act upon his feelings for his friend. The very audacity he had for even <em>trying</em> to is infuriating enough, especially since all it seemed to do was more damage. In the end, the reasons for shutting his want out are a far higher number than the ones speaking against it. For one, Mark’s got Amy, and she’s incredible. She’s kind and loving and beautiful, and she’s done so much for Mark that he doesn’t think he can ever repay her for. They’re family. And so is Ethan, but Mark’s made his choice, and he can’t just change his mind when he pleases. That’s not how it works.</p><p>Furthermore, he’s got to think about their channel. He and Ethan are co-workers, partners, responsible for the content they put up for their fans for a full year. They’re committing to this, and involving shit like feelings in the mix is <em>not</em> a good idea.</p><p>So Mark continues on with his life and their schedule, and so does Ethan, and neither of them mentions that day. Not while filming, not in between. And things are perfectly fine.</p><p>But they <em>aren’t</em>. For every video they film together, Mark only feels worse, and he only has himself to blame for it. Ethan acts just like normal, but there’s an invisible wall stacking up between the two them, a certain disheartened look flashing in Ethan’s usually bright eyes whenever they do something physical together, and it’s chipping away at Mark. He doesn’t know how much more of this he can take.</p><p>Amidst helping edit the Unus Annus camera crew edit their latest video, Amy calls his name from their shared bedroom, and Mark already feels guilt washing over him in waves. He makes an excuse and heads over to talk to his girlfriend, who’s waiting on their bed, her brow tightly knit in a grimace.</p><p>“Don’t look so scared. I just wanna talk.”</p><p>“Those words are every man’s nightmare, Ames.” jokes Mark, finding difficulty in meeting Amy’s eyes, mostly because there’s an understanding in them, like she <em>knows</em>.</p><p>“You wanna sit?”</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>Mark does so, sitting down next to Amy, whose expression relaxes a little into a loose smile. She’s obviously trying to make Mark less anxious, but Mark’s unsure if that’s even a possibility right now.</p><p>“Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you and Ethan…” she begins, not angry but rather... suspicious. Mark swallows, wrings his hands in his lap. Amy’s bright, of course she knows. However, this raises another separate but <em>terrifying</em> question.</p><p>
  <em>Does their audience know, too? </em>
</p><p>“But something clearly happened, and I have a feeling you might be the culprit.”</p><p>What hurts the most about her voice is the lack of anger, the slight humor to it. Mark looks up to look into Amy’s pretty eyes, she’s so open and honest and God, he doesn’t deserve her kindness.</p><p>“How did you-”</p><p>“Living a few years with you helps. At least you’re aware of it, too.” she grins, and Mark feels like crying all of a sudden. He drops his head onto Amy’s shoulder, his voice breaking when he speaks.</p><p>“God, Ames, I fucked up. I fucked up bad, and I didn’t mean to.”</p><p>Her arms come around him to give him the comfort he doesn’t deserve, to rub his shoulders and pat his head.</p><p>“I know you didn’t. But you can’t help what you feel, Mark. The heart wants what it wants, after all.”</p><p>He knows she’s right, but he still feels terrible about it. Eventually, he allows himself to hug Amy back, to let her wipe his tears for him. Muttered apologies are wrung from him, his consciousness getting the better of him.</p><p>“It’s okay. It is, y’know. You didn’t mean any harm.”</p><p>“I didn’t. I <em>don’t</em>. I just want to make things right.”</p><p>“And there’s still time for that. I’ll help you.” Amy coos, stroking his hair as if calming a wounded animal, eliciting a laugh of disbelief from Mark.</p><p>“You’re too good for this world.”</p><p>“I know.” </p>
<hr/><p>Mark wasn’t good at grand, romantic gestures. He always found them exaggerated and cheesy, something that belonged solely in bad rom-coms. But he did love Ethan. And Amy had insisted on it. So they went out to get some chocolate and flowers, and although Mark initially thought Amy wanting to help was just a nice thought, she was the one to drive him over to Ethan’s place. She seemed to be taking the entire thing exceptionally well, like she’d known how it was gonna end up like this from the very beginning. She always was the clever one.</p><p>Now they’re sitting in Amy’s car, parked outside of Ethan’s house, and Mark’s clutching onto the bouquet of flowers in a vice grip, his heart pounding out of his chest. Now that he’s here, it feels so real, and he knows he’s only got one shot at redeeming himself here.</p><p>“I’m not sure I can do this.”</p><p>But then Amy’s hand is on his and she’s smiling at him, telling him that he <em>can</em> do it, and that she’ll be right there if Ethan ends up throwing the flowers back in his face and slamming the door shut.</p><p>“Which probably won’t happen!” she backpedals with, once he sees Mark’s expression. So Mark nods. He thanks Amy for the ride and takes a deep breath, stepping out of the car and onto Ethan’s porch step.</p><p>He studies the blue flowers in his hands, asters, daisies, cloves, staring at them desperately like they might give him an idea of what to say. The florist in the shop he and Amy went to said that if giving someone blue flowers means that you think they’re extraordinary and unique, and that’s all definitely true about Ethan, to a fault. Besides, Mark thought blue flowers were fitting to Ethan’s previous channel theme and hair color. An homage, in a way.</p><p>While he’s busy getting distracted with his thoughts and what-ifs, the door suddenly swings open and Mark’s breath gets caught in his throat as he lets out a manly ‘eep’ of surprise. He hasn’t even knocked yet!</p><p>Yet his heart begins thumping behind his rib cage as he meets mottled, wide eyes and he takes in the dusting of pink on Ethan’s face. He looks completely at a loss as to why Mark is here, holding flowers and chocolate up to him.</p><p>“Mark? What are you doing here? I-” the rest of whatever he was gonna stutter gets stuck in his throat when he supposedly spots Amy in the car behind Mark. <em>Shit</em>.</p><p>“N- No, Amy’s not here to-”</p><p>“Look, Mark, i-if this is some prank for a video or something, it’s <strong><em>not</em></strong> fucking funny.” Ethan cuts him off with, his voice sharp yet unsteady, his fluster turning into anger, and Mark can see tears shining in the corners of his eyes.</p><p>He starts flailing with his arms in the air, panicked.</p><p>“It’s not- <em>God</em>, no, I would never… please, just hear me out!”</p><p>Everything is going wrong here. Even the poor flowers in Mark’s hands - now missing several petals due to being shaken and crumpled and probably affected by Mark’s nerves -, were trembling.</p><p>“Look, I screwed up. I shouldn’t’ve just pretended as if nothing happened after that day and I’m really sorry I did. I don’t regret kissing you, but I regret how I did it. I freaked out and I acted like a complete asshole. I’m sorry.”</p><p>Ethan looks on at Mark expectantly, as if telling him to go on. So Mark does, unafraid and unashamed of professing his love for Ethan right here on his porch step.</p><p>“I also came to tell you that I love you. I always have, I think, I just never realized… Anyway, I uh- I completely get if you don’t feel the same way, y’know? I mean, I’m <em>crazy</em> about you, and I needed to tell you, needed you to know.” Mark finishes, his throat dry and his lungs kipping for breath (it feels like he just ran a marathon), but his eyes are still glued to Ethan, watching his every movement.</p><p>He can detangle a mix of disbelief, surprise, and confusion on Ethan’s face, but his fury has vanished, and he looks particularly cute with his brows so near his hairline.</p><p>“But- But I… Amy?” stammers Ethan, looking over Mark’s shoulder, so Mark does the same, his heart swelling as he spots her grinning and giving them a thumbs up. He shoots her a grateful nod and a smile and turns back to Ethan, shrugging sheepishly.</p><p>“She knows. But she’s so supportive, Eth, she’s amazing.”</p><p>Everything about Ethan’s sigh that follows his statement spells relief, but there’s still this tiny glimpse of uncertainty in his multicolored eyes, so Mark makes a valiant attempt in removing that doubt from his mind with four, simple words.</p><p>“But she’s not <em>you</em>.”</p><p>“Oh, Mark…”</p><p>Tears are spilling over Ethan’s cheeks now, but in contrast, they’re happy ones, Mark thinks, since there’s a wide smile spreading across his face, and then, Ethan has him tackled in a hug, and the flowers and chocolates in his hands clatter to the ground.</p><p>With his arms tightly wound around Ethan’s lithe frame like he might just disappear at any given moment, he can sense how fast Ethan’s heart is beating and he’s glad he’s not alone in this feeling. Ethan’s shoulders begin shaking, then, and Mark’s scared he’s crying, so he pulls back to check Ethan’s face for tears. But, cupping Ethan’s face softly in his palms, all he can find is a goofy smile and his heart feels so full he worries it might crack.</p><p>“You’re not…?”</p><p>“M’ not. I’m- ahahah. I’m just happy!” giggles Ethan, burying his face in Mark’s shoulder and they stand there for a few moments before reluctantly pulling apart, reminded by a cold breeze nipping at their clothes that they’re still outside.</p><p>Mark scrambles to pick up the damaged bouquet and box of chocolates that lay abandoned on the ground.</p><p>“These ah- are for you. Or… they were, they don’t look so good-”</p><p>“They’re beautiful. I love them. I love <em>you</em>.” Ethan cuts Mark off - those last three words making Mark's heart skip a beat, stumble on another and sing on the third - taking the gift from Mark’s hand and nodding his head in the direction of the front door.</p><p>“You wanna uh- come inside so I can kiss you properly?”</p><p>The suggestion has Mark blinking at his crush, sputtering nonsense and simultaneously nodding, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. Before he closes the door behind them, though, he turns to Amy who’s honking at them from the car and puts his hands together, bowing in a sincere ‘thank you’.</p><p>Then, Amy drives off, and Mark closes the door, greeted by an energetic Spencer as he bends over to untie his shoelaces.</p><p>“Hey boy, missed me?”</p><p>He gives the shepherd the proper pats he deserves, some behind the ear and on his collar and yes - butt-pats never go wrong. When Spencer’s satisfied enough to happily trot off into the living room and Mark stands back up to ensure Ethan makes good on his promise, he catches Ethan looking at him with fondness sparkling in his viridescent eyes. He promptly looks away, his face burning.</p><p>“What was that part about kissing me before?” Mark asks, taking the lead by finding Ethan’s hand and twining their fingers together.</p><p>Now, Ethan doesn’t seem as bold as he did outside moments ago. No, now he’s all fidgety and flustered and absolutely adorable.</p><p>“Hmm? Cat got your tongue or something?”</p><p>“Shut up, Mark, I-... I…” but he trails off, his voice only a whisper when Mark corners him against a wall, taking Ethan’s face in his hands and brushing a thumb over his bottom lip. Mark can’t lie, he’s fantasized about how soft these lips are more than once, about how they’d feel against his, what pretty little noises they would make… and now, he could finally find out.</p><p>His eyes go back up to Ethan’s eyes, he’s completely in awe of how beautiful and expressive they are, matching the adoration and affection Mark hold for him in them.</p><p>“What are you looking at?” laughs Ethan, voice quiet and breathy and his pupils far dilated, nearly swallowing the green of his irises by now.</p><p>“You, obviously. How am I supposed to ever look at anything else? You’re so pretty.”</p><p>The response comes naturally and the reaction on Ethan’s side is gratifying, the already there blush on his cheeks spreading to his neck and ears and his eyes going comically wide.</p><p>“I told you to shut up!” Ethan hisses before claiming Mark’s mouth with his, sealing their lips together in an adamant, heated kiss.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>BONUS!!: Sitting on Ethan’s couch with Spencer curled up by their feet and Ethan in his lap, his head resting on his shoulder, Mark shoots off a message to Amy. </p><p>Mark: I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this. Thank you again!</p><p>Amy: Oh I’ll figure something out. Seriously though, someone had to help you snap out of it. Love you both! x</p><p>Mark: Love you too.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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